News
DUNEDIN — A Clearwater man is accused of stealing more than $17,000 in corporate checks from a dialysis center in a one-month span, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
Benjamin C. Nichols, 25, who is listed in jail records as a transient from Clearwater, was arrested Thursday. He was charged with nine counts of uttering forged checks and one count of grand theft. Additional charges were levied last month.
According to arrest reports, Nichols stole some checks and a rubber signature stamp from Gulf Coast Dialysis Center in Dunedin, then made checks out to himself.
Nichols then cashed the checks, ranging from $680 to $3,800, at various banks throughout Pinellas County and Tampa between April 20 and May 18, according to arrest reports.
Nichols' mother works at the business, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office had alerted local banks to be on the lookout for Nichols or the checks, said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha. Nichols was located in May after an alert teller at a Clearwater bank called police when Nichols showed up at the bank with one of the checks.
Clearwater police and the Sheriff's Office placed charges on him at that time. He was charged with additional counts Thursday.
The investigation is ongoing.
On Friday afternoon, Nichols was being held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $23,000 bail.
Loading...
